Mounting concerns over the effect of greenhouse gases on global climate have stimulated research focused on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Solar power generation is particularly appealing because substantially no greenhouse gases are produced at the power generation source.
Concentrated solar power (CSP) generation using solar receivers is known in the art. Briefly, concentrated solar power systems use lenses, mirrors, or other elements to focus sunlight incident on a relatively large area onto a small area called a solar receiver. The concentrated sunlight can be used to heat a fluid within the solar receiver. The fluid heated within the solar receiver can be used to create energy, such as by driving a turbine to generate power or by providing a secondary heat source.
Conventional receivers for concentrating solar power consist of panels of tubes that are arranged in a cylindrical or cubical shape to face the incoming solar irradiance. However, these configurations also maximize radiative and convective heat losses to the environment; most of the sunlight reflected off of these surfaces is lost to the environment.
The need therefore remains for an efficient solar receiver that enables higher efficiency power cycles.